Conflict

Chapter 26: Conflict

A stall was surrounded by a crowd of demon cultivators of various shapes and forms.

Chen Lin's expression shifted, and he walked over as well.

It was a fairly large stall. The proprietor was a short man less than five feet tall, and his stall was covered in various cultivation materials, talismans, and dharma artifacts. However, Chen Lin did not focus on these items, instead casting his gaze behind the proprietor.

There sat a cage made of an unknown material, sealed with talismans. Inside, a young, delicate-looking human girl was curled up. Her clothes were in tatters, and her exposed skin was bruised and bleeding, clearly showing signs of injury. She appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, and at this moment, she was staring at the greedy demon cultivators surrounding her with a face full of terror and sorrow, her eyes filled with despair.

"Hehe, for this girl to have broken through to the Xiantian Realm at such a young age, her aptitude is truly excellent. It took me quite a lot of effort to capture her!"

The short man wore a sinister expression. He looked at the surrounding demon cultivators, pointed a finger at the girl in the cage, and laughed lewdly: "What's more, this girl is still a virgin. Her essence and blood are a great tonic!"

"How many spirit stones for this human female cultivator?"

A burly, ugly demon cultivator in the crowd examined the girl in the cage with greedy eyes and finally spoke up.

"Hehe, the price is fixed: 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones!" The short man chuckled, holding up a finger to the demon cultivator.

"What? 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones?!"

Upon hearing this, the ugly demon cultivator's greedy expression immediately changed, turning dark. He let out a cold snort and said, "Why don't you just go rob someone?"

"That's right, 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones is too much. That's enough to purchase a Mid-Grade Dharma Artifact. Although this female cultivator is pretty, it's simply not worth the cost just for a moment of pleasure."

Other demon cultivators nearby shook their heads and whispered among themselves. They all felt that 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones was too expensive, and some had already lost interest and were preparing to disperse.

"Hmph! 100 spirit stones is already a low price. Take it or leave it."

Hearing the crowd's comments, the short proprietor did not lower the price. Instead, he rolled his eyes and said with disdain, "This girl is a disciple of the 'Forget-Emotion Valley'! Although the 'Forget-Emotion Valley' is only a second-rate immortal sect, their female disciples all cultivate the immortal 'Autumn Water Forget-Emotion Scripture'. This scripture only enhances the soul and spiritual power. If one harvests this girl, it will be of great benefit to both soul and spiritual power—she is the perfect Cauldron! If I weren't short on spirit stones, I would have enjoyed her myself long ago!"

A so-called Cauldron was naturally used for the art of harvesting yin to replenish yang, draining a young girl's essence and blood to boost one's own spiritual power.

"What? A disciple of the 'Forget-Emotion Valley'? In that case, 100 spirit stones isn't a loss..."

"It's a pity that to perfectly utilize the value of a Cauldron, one must possess a profound harvesting technique..."

The surrounding demon cultivators suddenly realized the truth and began whispering to one another. Some already showed signs of being moved, yet they remained hesitant; after all, 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones was still too expensive for low-ranking disciples like them.

Standing in the crowd, Chen Lin listened to the discussions of the demon cultivators and couldn't help but shake his head inwardly, his expression complex. Although he was now of the demon race, he had been human in his previous life, and seeing this scene left him with a strange, indescribable feeling.

The demon race and the human race were at odds; human cultivators captured demons to extract their souls for alchemy, and demon cultivators naturally used human cultivators as Cauldrons and slaves.

Chen Lin's heart was filled with mixed emotions. Although he felt pity for this poor human girl, he still turned around, intending to leave. He was not a soft-hearted person, especially in the complex environment of the Myriad Demon Sect where the strong preyed on the weak. His temperament had been honed to be cold and numb. While this human girl was pitiful, he had no connection to her, and he certainly wouldn't waste 100 spirit stones to redeem her for nothing.

"Ding!"

"System has issued a side quest: Rescue the 'Forget-Emotion Sect' female disciple. Penalty for quest failure: 800 points of Death Energy."

Hearing this sound, Chen Lin, who had just turned away, stumbled and froze in place.

After a long while, Chen Lin took a deep breath, turned back heavily, and walked to the front of the stall. He wiped his hand across his storage bag, took out 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and with a dark face, handed them to the proprietor. "100 spirit stones. I'm taking this girl."

"Uh? ...Alright! ...Good..."

A look of astonishment flashed across the short man's face; clearly, he hadn't expected the deal to be made so quickly. But he reacted fast, hurriedly taking the spirit stones, giving Chen Lin a lewd grin, and turning to open the cage.

"Hold on, I want this female cultivator."

Suddenly, a discordant, hoarse voice rang out.

The crowd was pushed aside, and an ugly demon cultivator wearing a flamboyant red robe, but with a gaunt and wretched face, walked over arrogantly. He nonchalantly tapped the storage bag at his waist, took out 100 Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and tossed them directly toward the short proprietor. He kept his eyes fixed on the girl in the cage, his lecherous gaze undisguised, and walked slowly toward the cage, intending to take the girl away.

He treated Chen Lin as if he didn't exist.

The short proprietor was clearly stunned. He took the spirit stones involuntarily, then hesitated for a moment before returning the stones to Chen Lin. It was clear that the demon cultivator who had appeared later had a significantly higher cultivation than Chen Lin, and the proprietor did not want to offend him.

"Hmph!"

Chen Lin's expression darkened. He moved, blocking the path of the demon cultivator, and said expressionlessly, "Even in business, there is a first-come, first-served rule. You had best step aside; I have already bought this female cultivator."

"Hm? You dare block my path?"

The red-robed demon cultivator narrowed his eyes, staring at Chen Lin. "Very well, which demon branch are you from?"

"What does it matter which branch I'm from? Do I have to tell you just because you asked?" Chen Lin crossed his arms, staring at the man with a mocking smile while secretly activating Advanced Perception. He discovered that the opponent possessed the formidable cultivation of the Late Xiantian Stage.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Lin certainly wouldn't make an enemy for no reason over a human girl he didn't know. However, Chen Lin vaguely felt that the Main God Coffin would not issue a meaningless quest. Although this side quest didn't specify a reward, the return would surely outweigh the cost.

"Brat, do you know who you are offending? I am the personal disciple of Demon Venerable Chilian of this generation's 'Blood Hand Branch'!"

The red-robed demon cultivator's face sank, and he stared at Chen Lin menacingly, threatening him.

"I don't care about your demon branch or your Demon Venerable's personal disciple status."

Chen Lin rolled his eyes and said lazily, "There are so many branch masters and Demon Venerable experts among the Seventy-Two Branches of Myriad Demon; how come I don't remember which one Demon Venerable Chilian is? Perhaps you're just using a tiger's skin to wrap yourself in a banner to scare me. If you have nothing else to say, I'll be taking this female cultivator now."

Though he said this, Chen Lin shook his head and gave a bitter smile internally. He truly didn't know if offending a Demon Venerable's personal disciple for a side quest with an unknown reward was a gain or a loss.

"Good, very good! You are very good!"

The red-robed demon cultivator's face turned livid, his chest heaving. His aura gradually climbed, as if he were about to strike at the slightest provocation. But in the end, his fingers twitched under his sleeves, and he actually restrained himself. Instead, he turned away, ignoring Chen Lin, and spoke directly to the short proprietor: "110 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I want this girl."

"111 Low-Grade Spirit Stones. I'm very sorry, but you cannot take her."

Chen Lin leaned against the edge of the cage as if nothing had happened, let out a lazy yawn, and said, "130 Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"131 Low-Grade Spirit Stones."

"You little bastard!"

The red-robed Demon Cultivator glared fiercely at Chen Lin, his eyes filled with undisguised killing intent as he hissed, "I have memorized your face. Do not let me see you outside the market next time, or I will make you regret ever being born into this world!"

"Mm, I'll be waiting for you. But if you aren't going to raise your bid, then get lost!"

Chen Lin waved his hand dismissively, paying him no further mind.

The red-robed Demon Cultivator's chest heaved, his lips twitching as if he wanted to continue bidding, but in the end, he remained silent. Clearly, he felt that spending such a large sum of spirit stones on a female cultivator at the early Xiantian stage was not worth it. Nevertheless, he kept his vicious gaze locked on Chen Lin, as if trying to etch that detestable face into his memory, before flicking his sleeves and storming off with a dark expression.